Are You Staring At Me?
by Sargaetorian
Summary: "There is no one else in the world Haru-chan looks at like that."


**A/N: **The longer a fanfic gets, the more I procrastinate on it ;-; someone help me. And omfg this is what I get for not writing any fics in so long, I feel like everything I write is so wrong :c But anyway, have a bit of Free! love, and your daily dose of hot, muscled boys ;3 Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **Free! does not belong to me.

**Warnings: **Gross fluff. All suffixes at the end of names are taken off, except for Nagisa's pet names.

* * *

**Are You Staring At Me?**

"Haru?"

Haru slowly opened his eyes to the sound of Makoto's voice, laying in a cold bath as he did every morning. "What is it?"

Makoto smiled at him. "Did you forget?" he asked, leaning down and extending his hand to help Haru up. "We're going ice skating today."

Reluctantly, Haru shook the water out of his dripping black hair and grabbed Makoto's hand, pulling himself up from the bathtub.

"You can't wear your swimsuit to the rink, though. It'll be too cold."

"Mm."

Makoto exited the bathroom, leaning outside the door until the other had finished changing. Humming a short tune, he heard the door slide open and was greeted by Haru, who was wearing a t-shirt and jeans.

"You're going to wear your winter coat, right?"

Haru nodded once, and Makoto smiled cheerfully. "Alright then, come on. I've already made you breakfast, and Rei and Nagisa are waiting downstairs."

As if to prove his point, a loud shout of, "Haru-chan!" came echoing up the stairs, and they were met by Nagisa at the bottom of the stairs.

"Haru-chan, hurry up!" Nagisa exclaimed, grabbing Haru's arm excitedly. "We're already finished eating, and Rei-chan's getting impatient-"

"Don't blame your own problems on me to pressure Haru, Nagisa!" Rei shouted from the kitchen.

Makoto laughed and followed the sound of Rei's voice, grabbing a plate of mackerel he'd set on the counter earlier, along with chopsticks from the silverware drawer. He brought it to the table as Nagisa led Haru over, and the friends all sat down together as Haru began eating.

"Is it good?" Nagisa asked, bubbling with energy.

"Yes." Haru swallowed a large bite and lifted another to his lips.

"Mako-chan makes the best mackerel, don't you agree?"

"Yes." Makoto blushed at that, rubbing the back of his head modestly.

"Haru-chan, are you excited?" Nagisa asked, bouncing up and down in his seat.

"I've never been ice skating before."

"Really? In my opinion, it's one of the most beautiful sports," Rei smirked, pushing his glasses back. "If I had the flexibility and agility, I would have surely pursued skating."

"Rei-chan, you'd look ridiculous in an ice skating outfit."

A vein popped out from Rei's temple when he heard Nagisa's murmured comment.

"Well, we're glad that you chose the swim team," Makoto replied quickly, trying to break up any potential argument. "Although, today's not the best skating day for me," he laughed awkwardly, "I hurt myself when I was training yesterday.

Haru looked up sharply, his chopsticks hitting his plate with a clink. "Where?"

Makoto seemed surprised at the sudden way Haru responded to his admission. "Er, I think I pulled a muscle on my leg or something. But it's not that bad-"

"Let me see."

"It's really not that important!" Makoto laughed, leaning back and waving Haru off with a tint of pink on his cheeks. "I just can't run as quickly today."

Haru stared at Makoto with his piercing blue eyes before looking down at his plate almost sullenly. He rose to his feet after a moment and headed to the sink, as if it upset him that Makoto hadn't let him check his wound. "I'm done."

Nagisa leaned over the table. "But you haven't even finished-"

"Haru, wait! I'll wash those for you!" Makoto scrambled up and chased after Haru.

Nagisa and Rei stared after them curiously.

"Hey, Rei-chan," the blonde piped up.

"Hm?"

"Did you see that?" Nagisa pointed to Haru and Makoto, who seemed to be having a one-sided argument over who got to do the dishes.

"Er, what was I supposed to see?"

Nagisa turned away, frowning at the couple's backs in slight surprise. "I don't know. But…" he paused, as if searching for the right words. "There is no one else in the world Haru-chan looks at like that."

* * *

Haru was appalled and speechless. He was frozen, and he felt like his breathing was constricted.

"Haru? What's wrong?" Makoto asked, worried. Nagisa and Rei looked over from where they were renting their skates.

"Why is the water hard?"

Nagisa fell over, bringing Rei down with him. "Don't you know what ice is, Haru-chan?!"

"Yes, but it's a waste of perfectly good water."

"Ice is water!" Rei shouted indignantly. "It is merely a different-"

"Come on, Haru," Makoto pleaded gently, cutting through the words falling at an astounding rate from Rei's mouth. "Let's just go get our skates; it'll be fun once you try it."

Haru looked dubious, but allowed Makoto to lead him to the counter, where Rei and Nagisa were already tugging their skates on. He slipped his trainers off and held out his hand for Haru's, giving both pairs to the receptionist to swap them out.

"I'm done! Let's go!" Nagisa leaped up, spreading his arms wide. Much to the group's horror, one of the blades on his ice skates slipped out from under him on the carpet, and Nagisa toppled over. Rei abandoned his untied laces and dove to grab Nagisa's arms, tugging him upright again.

"Don't be so impatient!" Rei cried angrily. "You could have twisted your ankle!"

"Sorry, Rei-chan," Nagisa apologized, rubbing the back of his head ashamedly as Rei removed his arms.

Rei sighed, pushing back his glasses. "Just wait until Haru and Makoto are done, and then we'll all go together."

The receptionist came back with two pairs of black skates as Rei scolded Nagisa, and Makoto gave the smaller pair to Haru. They sat down next to each other on a bench in the waiting room, and Haru was staring at the skates as if they were the strangest things in the world.

"Haru, they're just like shoes," Makoto explained patiently. "Just put them on."

"They're too stiff." Haru set one skate down on the bench and inspected the blade of the other, running his hand along the edge.

"Careful, you'll cut yourself!" Makoto took the skate and checked Haru's finger worriedly. Haru looked at Makoto silently as he inspected for cuts, his eyes as calm and uninterested as ever. He saw no reason for his friend to be so worried, as the blades were actually quite dull. "Do you need help getting them on?"

Haru shook his head and took the skate back, beginning to put them on cautiously. Makoto sat back and began pulling his own skates on, tightly double-knotting the laces. When he finished, he stood up and held out his hand for Haru to take as he finished tying.

The black haired boy grabbed the hand and stood up, wobbling slightly on the thin edge of the blades. He gritted his teeth as he took an unsteady step, holding tightly onto Makoto's hand. Slowly, step by step, Makoto led him to the door leading to the ice rink, with Rei and Nagisa close behind.

As soon as they opened the double glass doors, they were assaulted by a cold wind and the shouts and laughter of the many others already out on the ice. Haru still clung to Makoto, unused to the skates and the large number of people in the rink.

"You ready?" Makoto leaned down so Haru could hear him.

Haru nodded, and Nagisa grabbed Rei's hand and practically threw himself onto the ice.

"Come on, Rei-chan!"

"Nagisa, slow down!"

Makoto stifled his chuckles at the pair before readjusting his grip on Haru's hand, sending bolts of electricity up and down Haru's arm. Makoto led him to the nearest gate and carefully stepped onto the ice, sliding his feet around to face Haru properly and take hold of his other hand as well.

"Just hold on, and I'll make sure you don't fall," he reassured Haru, that ever-so-gentle look still in his green eyes. They were the perfect shade of green, Haru thought as he allowed Makoto to support him as he stepped forth. Not too bright, and not too dull. Just right in the middle, the way Haru liked it.

"Now, just put your heels together and slide your feet outwards before angling your toes in again. Just keep doing that and you'll start moving. It's just like swimming!"

Haru swallowed before moving his heels together. However, his feet moved faster than he'd anticipated, and he pitched forward. Makoto grabbed his shoulders fast as lightning and straightened him, making sure he could stand by himself before lowering his grip to his hands again.

"Come on, you can do it, Haru," Makoto murmured, as if it were only he and Haru in the room. As Haru slowly moved forward, he went backwards, until they were gliding along at a leisurely pace along the walls of the rink.

"Can I let go of your hands now?"

Haru nodded, but when Makoto loosened his grip and swiveled around to skate alongside Haru, he felt himself losing his rhythm. Quickly, he grabbed on to Makoto's left hand, gripping it tightly as he tried to keep himself upright. A large, rowdy crowd of teenagers whizzed by at that exact moment, however, and one of their elbows hit Haru's side, making him jump and fall backwards.

"Haru!" Makoto shouted, lunging forward to stop his fall, but his sudden movements made his skates carve a track in the opposite direction of where his body was headed.

As it so happened, Haru found himself flat on the ice, his head cushioned by Makoto's chest, and Makoto's knee digging into his side. The laughter-choked, unapologetic call of, "Sorry!" from the teenager who'd bumped into him was almost completely drowned out by the sound of Makoto's slow, steady heartbeat, which Haru could hear even through the thick, black coat Makoto wore. Vaguely, he wondered why his own heartbeat was so much quicker, why it sounded so loud in his own ears, almost like it couldn't pump enough blood to the rest of his body. Now that he thought of it, he could smell something warm and soft, something that made him think of home. It was making him feel rather dizzy, but… a pleasant sort of dizzy, if dizziness could be described like that.

Makoto groaned and gripped Haru's shoulders firmly as he sat the both of him up. He curled his legs under him, pushing himself into a kneeling position. Taking Haru's arm, he wrapped it around his neck and shakily stood up, his skates at an angle so they wouldn't give out under him. Haru was lifted up a bit too high, as Makoto was so much taller and broader than he was. His arm began aching from the way it was stretched, and he wriggled it away from Makoto's neck.

"Sorry, Haru," Makoto looked away, "I couldn't keep you from falling."

Haru stared at Makoto, who continued to avert his eyes. He couldn't quite understand why Makoto was so concerned with his fall, especially seeing as Makoto took the brunt of it. Nevertheless, he reached over and took Makoto's hand once more to keep him steady. Makoto looked over at the contact, smiling at how concentrated Haru appeared to be.

"You know-"

"Makoto," Haru interrupted quietly, his voice barely audible over the din of the rink. "Are you okay?"

Makoto smiled wide, his green eyes almost closing as he nodded. Gripping Haru's hand harder, he slowly began leading them forward again. Rei and Nagisa soon caught up to them, Nagisa holding Rei's gloved hands and spinning them around and around in circles, despite Rei's shouts of protest.

"Mako-chan!" Nagisa sang, slowing their spinning for a moment. Rei promptly fell over, looking dazed and dizzy. "Are you still teaching Haru?"

"He's getting the hang of it," Makoto replied, but at that moment, Haru felt his skates glide over a few deep, rough gouges in the ice. Almost losing his balance, he instinctively wrapped his arms around Makoto's waist, holding on for dear life as his skates almost slipped again.

"Well, almost," Makoto chuckled, as Haru scooted his arms up to stand up with Makoto's support.

"Water shouldn't be this painful," Haru muttered as Nagisa pulled Rei up and began spinning him again.

"You're getting better, though!" Makoto encouraged, and Haru looked at him skeptically.

Too afraid to loosen his arms, Haru continued working his way around the rink with his arms around Makoto's torso and his vision almost obscured by the way his face was pressed into Makoto's green scarf.

"Haru, you're going to crash like that." Makoto removed his scarf and instead tied it snugly around Haru's neck. The black haired boy pulled his chin towards his chest to bury his stinging nose in the scarf, still heated by Makoto's body heat. The same scent he'd smelled earlier filled his nose, giving him a heady sensation that made his knees go weak, his heart running a marathon in his chest.

"If you need to, we can take a break and get something to eat," Makoto said, concerned. Haru's arms had loosened slightly, and he tugged them up to their original position, feeling them tighten slightly again.

If Makoto didn't know better, he'd have said that Haru had just hugged him, for after that momentary increased pressure Haru removed his arms completely and began skating ahead without support, still slightly unbalanced, but skating nonetheless. Makoto gaped, wondering how Haru had gotten the hang of it all of a sudden.

"H-Haru? Do you still need my help?"

Haru looked back slightly, face emotionless. "I think I've got it."

Makoto sped to catch up to Haru. "You're doing great!"

Haru stayed silent, but Makoto didn't need an answer.

"After this, do you want to go swimming again?" Makoto asked once Haru could skate steadily without the need of too much concentration.

"I think I'd rather just go out for lunch," Haru replied, his eyes still on the ice.

"What happened to loving water more than anything else?" Makoto teased, his voice lilted and colored with laughter.

Haru felt his heart begin beating faster, his answer on the tip of his tongue. A part of him wondered if he should actually say it, but he shrugged it off and said it anyway. Haru was never one to beat around the bush.

"I do like the water," he began, looking in the opposite direction of his friend, "but I think I like Makoto even more."

Makoto slid to a stop, his eyes wide as he tried to process what Haru just said. It wasn't every day that Haru complimented Makoto like that. In fact, he didn't think Haru had _ever _complimented him like that.

"And…" Makoto could see the side of Haru's face, his lips set in what almost seemed like a pout. "I don't think I like Makoto in the same way, either."

Makoto turned red as he watched Haru skate away without him, clinging to the wall with one hand. Before long, he smiled as he always did, his eyes following Haru as he skated smoothly around the rink.

From the opposite wall, Rei and Nagisa had stopped to take a breather as well. Though, for Rei, it was mostly holding back his nausea from the dizziness of Nagisa's antics. His eyes sought out Makoto, and he adjusted his glasses as he noticed that Haru was no longer by his side.

Rei's eyes widened as he stared at Makoto, whose eyes seemed to be fixated on something else.

"Hey, Nagisa."

"Hmm?" Nagisa looked up inquisitively. "What is it, Rei-chan?"

"Do you remember what you said about Haru this morning?"

Nagisa scratched his head. "A little bit," he answered vaguely.

" Well, I think I understand what you meant."

Nagisa pouted, not understanding. "What are you talking about, Rei-chan?"

Rei laughed awkwardly, adjusting his glasses again even though they hadn't moved from their position on his nose. "I don't know, but…"

"But?"

"Well, I've never seen Makoto look at someone like that before, either."

* * *

**End**


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